Rethinking Bed Rest
Rethinking Bed Rest
More and more professional care givers (physicians, physical therapists, chiropractors, and others) are rethinking the age old strategy of bed rest and inactivity for musculoskeletal injuries. Much research shows that prolonged bed rest and inactivity immediately after an injury has a potential negative impact on your pursuit of an optimal recovery.
Movement is Needed for Normal Repair and Tissue Health
- Tissues healed with movement and mechanical stress will have properties matching mechanical requirements of daily physical activity
- Tissues healed while immobile or under reduced or abnormal movement may fail to meet imposed structural and functional demands of daily activities.
Research
Various research articles follow. For an in-depth discussion or more information, on this topic and others, please contact the doctor.
Protracted rest leads to a catabolic state with general malaise. There is demineralization of bone and a 3 percent loss of muscle strength per day. Rest, particularly prolonged bed rest may be the most harmful treatment ever devised and a potent cause of iatrogenic disability – Waddell, MD. Negative Effects of Bedrest & Inactivity, Spine Magazine (1987).
In 1966, five healthy 20 year old men underwent 20 days of bed rest to see how quickly men lose aerobic capacity with bed rest. The men became seriously deconditioned after 20 days of complete inactivity. Recently the same five men were evaluated 30 years later to evaluate the effects of aging. They had become sedentary. Their body weight increased 25 percent and the percent of body fat had doubled. They had a 6 percent decrease in maximum heart rate and an impaired efficiency of maximal peripheral oxygen extraction. Though these men had gone downhill – the most remarkable finding of the study is the observation that three weeks of bedrest in 1966 caused a more profound deterioration in cardiovascular and physical work capacity than did 30 years of aging. – McGuire, MD. A 30-year Follow-Up of the Dallas Bed Rest and Training Study.
The short-term use of NSAIDs and analgesics, spinal manipulation and mobilization by trained persons and active exercises are useful in Grade II and III Whiplash-associated Disorders, but prolonged use of C-collars, rest or inactivity probably prolongs disability. Early return to usual activities should be encouraged. – Spitzer, MD, MPH. Quebec Task Force on Whiplash-associated Disorders, Spine Magazine (1995).
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